


Expectations

by acalmingcupoftea



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acalmingcupoftea/pseuds/acalmingcupoftea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU fic of Lizzie & Darcy's trip to the theater. Based on episode 84.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my pal K for the beta. She really helped me get the Lizzie voice right. <3

Darcy sat in the idling car outside of Pemberley Digital attempting to calm the waves of anxiety located in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t expected her to say yes (he had hoped, but he had learned better than to have expectations with her) and he hadn’t expected her to say yes with such a bashful smile and in such a, well, shy way. If he knew anything about Lizzie Bennet, it was that she was not shy.

Darcy straightened his turquoise blue tie and checked his silver watch again. It was a few minutes past the hour, which made Lizzie late for their rendezvous. A variety of thoughts and scenarios started playing out in his head: she was standing him up, she had fallen down the stairs, it was all a cruel joke that she hoped would amuse her viewers.

The thoughts and tensions instantly stopped when he saw her rush hurriedly out of the building’s entrance and towards the car. The driver held the door open for her and she slid onto the leather seat, catching her breath as she said, “I’m so sorry for being late! Setting curls took longer than I remembered.”

Lizzie was wearing a turquoise blue dress (he now understood Gigi’s instance that he wear this tie - the shades were almost identical) with a sweetheart neckline. Her feet were adorned with black heels, the height of which he couldn’t judge in the car, and a silver necklace with a small heart charm hung around her neck, stopping at the midpoint between neck and cleavage. Her red tresses framed her lightly made up face with soft curls.

As the driver pulled away from the curb and into the San Francisco traffic, Darcy said, “It’s quite alright. We have plenty of time to make it to the civic center.”

Lizzie grinned and said, “I’m really looking forward to seeing _Les Miserables_. It’s one of my favorite musicals.”

Darcy sighed and said, “I, too, had been looking forward to seeing it. I just found out today unfortunately that the touring group has been delayed in London. It appears we shall be seeing the Swan Lake ballet instead. I do hope that is alright?” Darcy could feel the anxiety building back up inside him.

Lizzie considered a moment and said, “It’s not exactly what I had been expecting but I think it will still be fun. The only ballet I’ve ever seen was a production of _The Nutcracker_ put on by Lydia’s dance class back in elementary school.”

Darcy softly chuckled, “Rest assured this production will be much better than that. It’s being performed by a Russian national ballet troupe.”

“That sounds very professional and high class then! And I guess this just means when Le Mis finally does come to San Francisco we’ll just have to go then.” Lizzie said, her voice warm, a smile brightening up her face.

Darcy let a small part of his smile show as he agreed with Lizzie before he turned to look out the car window. 

“Oh, look,” he said, gesturing out the car window, “you can see the bay and some of the Bay Bridge from here.”

He could hear Lizzie slide along the seat and felt her press lightly against him as she looked out the window to where he pointed. He could smell her flowery perfume and her dangling jeweled earrings caught the limited light in the car. Lizzie wasn’t looking at him, instead enraptured with the cityscape, which gave Darcy an opportunity to study her profile. 

“This is such a beautiful city.” Lizzie sighed.

“Yes, it is.” Darcy said, before quickly turning his gaze back to the view out the window.

Lizzie slid back to her own seat and Darcy felt cold where she had leaned up against him.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Darcy trying to think of any sort of small talk conversation and Lizzie happily looking out the window at the landscape. Darcy had decided to turn the topic of conversation to that of family vacations (not his best option) when he was saved by the driver pulling up in front of the theater.

“Ah we’re here!” Lizzie exclaimed as Darcy quickly exited the car and dashed to the other side. He opened Lizzie’s door and smiling at her, offered his hand. She took it, her hands soft and smooth in his palm and he helped her out of the car. Darcy instructed the driver to wait for his call and together they walked up the steps to the will call ticket line.

Feeling it was the opportune moment, Darcy leaned into Lizzie and said quietly, “You look very beautiful tonight Lizzie.” She smiled at him and gently squeezed his hand. Darcy’s breath caught as he realized her hand was still clasped in his. Darcy almost let go when he noticed that Lizzie was making no move to free hers nor did she seem particularly bothered by the fact that their hands were still touching. She was just admiring the architecture of the building and the advertising displays for the ballet.

Dacry considered his options and then, feeling brave, he slipped his fingers through hers, interlacing their hands. Darcy’s heart was beating at a faster pace as he studied Lizzie out of the corner of his eye, hoping his actions had not agitated her. He thought her cheeks were a bit more flushed and her breathing a bit quicker but he couldn’t tell for sure. She made no comment or move to remove her hand.

The line was moving with a greater pace than Darcy would have liked and soon they were at the ticket counter. Begrudgingly, Darcy dropped Lizzie’s hand and showed the employee his ID. He was handed two tickets for the show, one of which he handed to Lizzie. Darcy wanted to reach for her hand again but there was no pretense for him to do so. Surprisingly, as Lizzie took the ticket from him, she slipped her other arm through the crook of his elbow and said comfortably, “Did Gigi tell you to wear that tie?”

In a completely different world, it took Darcy a moment to understand her question. He fiddled with his tie as he said, “Yes, she had been rather insistent that I wear this one.”

Lizzie giggled, handing her ticket to the man at the door, as she said, “She was pretty insistent that I wear this dress as well. That sister of yours is quite the schemer.”

“If only you knew.” Darcy replied, taking the stubs and programs the ticket taker offered. He led Lizzie away from the mass of people headed towards the theater and over to a staircase that went up to the second floor. He noticed Lizzie admiring the grandeur of the interior and for the first time in awhile was stuck by it’s beauty.

They reached the top of the staircase and entered a long hallway which had rooms running down the right side of it. Each room was sectioned off from the hall by a curtain. An usher stood at the front of the entryway, collecting ticket stubs and directing people to the appropriate box. He nodded his head in greeting to Darcy and pointed them to the curtained room at the end of the hallway.

Darcy pulled back the curtain to allow Lizzie into the box which had two red plush chairs and a small table in between them to put drinks or programs. Lizzie took a seat and placed her program on the table beside her. 

“These are such comfortable chairs!” Lizzie exclaimed, as Darcy took his seat across from her.

“My grandfather, who originally bought these seats, had some pretty severe back problems. He bought the chairs especially for the box and had them brought into the theater one afternoon. The look on the owner’s face when he saw what my grandfather had done was simply priceless.” Darcy replied. The story elicited a grin and a slight chuckle from Lizzie and Darcy mentally cursed himself for not thinking to have the table moved so the chairs would be closer.

Lizzie was about to say something but the lights in the theater had dimmed and the conductor took to the stage, signaling the orchestra to begin the overture. Darcy spent most of the first half of the ballet watching Lizzie more than the performers. He was constantly concerned that she was bored or too cold or not following the plot. But every time he glanced over at her, she seemed perfectly content to watch the ballerinas twirl.

Intermission came much quicker than Darcy had been expecting. Lizzie turned to him expectantly. 

“Would you like to walk around for a few moments? Stretch your...legs?” Darcy asked. Lizzie nodded and the two set out down the stairs towards the lobby of the building. Darcy noticed a vendor selling snacks and some hot beverages and motioned Lizzie over towards it.

As they waited in line Darcy asked, “What did you think of the first half?”

Lizzie grinned, reducing the space between them as she said, “I’ve really been enjoying it, though the plot can be hard to follow sometimes. The costumes are so lovely. It’s dazzling to watch them sparkle in the light.”

“I too find ballet plots hard to follow at times. If you have any questions you can always ask me.” Darcy said. 

“So, she’s a princess that was turned into a swan?” Lizzie asked. Darcy nodded his agreement, encouraging her to continue.

“Huh, it seems so much like the Swan Princess, which I guess makes sense. The ballet is obviously the source material.” Lizzie said to herself more than Darcy. When she looked at him, Lizzie noticed his confused expression.

“ _Swan Princess_?” Darcy asked.

“...You’ve never seen it? No way! You have a sister! How have you not seen this movie?” Lizzie said, playfully slapping Darcy’s arm.

“My parents were firm advocates of children playing outside. Hence Gigi’s tennis prowess and passion.” Darcy replied.

“Does this mean you also haven’t seen many... _Disney movies_?” Lizzie asked, flabbergasted at the mere thought.

Darcy chuckled lightly as he replied, “I believe I have seen _The Lion King_ but I confess not much else.”

“Decision made.” Lizzie said, “We are going to have a Disney movie marathon next weekend and you can’t say no. Maybe we’ll even watch _Swan Princess_.”

Darcy let a half-grin play across his face but inside he was beaming. She was offering (voluntarily) to spend more time with him. _She_ (he thought at least) was flirting with him. This night was really going much differently that he had anticipated.

By now they had approached the front of the line. Darcy asked, “Is there anything in particular you would like to eat or drink?”

Lizzie glanced at the menu quickly and said, “Hot chocolate sounds perfect. It’s always been one of my favorite hot drinks.”

“It’s one of mine too. The richness of the chocolate is much nicer on a cold day than coffee or tea” Darcy agreed and ordered two hot chocolates from the woman in charge of the stall. Lizzie reached into her clutch, digging around for her wallet when Darcy placed his hand on hers (any excuse right?) and said, “Don’t worry about it Lizzie.” Lizzie smirked but remained silent on the matter.

He handed the sever four dollars and took the two drinks from her. As he handed Lizzie her drink, he felt like her hand lingered on his a bit longer than it needed to. 

“That was very kind of you.” Lizzie said as they made their way back to their seats. Once they returned to the box Lizzie frowned.

“Is something wrong?” Darcy asked. 

She turned her head to the side and said, “I think it would be better if I moved my chair a little more to the right. My view was a little obstructed.” With that she handed Darcy her cocoa, pushed the table closer to the front of the box and dragged her chair so that it was practically next to Darcy’s. Lizzie took her cocoa back and plopped into her chair as the lights began to dim again signaling the start of the third act.

Darcy swallowed dryly as he took his seat, acutely aware of how much closer Lizzie was to him. As the dancers took up their positions, Darcy realized that he couldn’t spy on her reactions for this half. He was going to have to actually have to watch the performance.

Thankfully the dancers were quite skilled at their craft and Darcy remained distracted for most of the performance. During one of the duets of the fourth act, Darcy felt a light brush against his hand which was resting comfortably on the chair’s arm. He glanced down quickly but didn’t see anything, so he returned his attention to the performance.

There it was again! This time Darcy looked much faster and saw Lizzie’s fingers just disappear over the side of her chair’s armrest. Her eyes were facing the front, watching the dancers. Coming to a decision, Darcy faced the stage and softly ran his ring finger along the outside curve of her hand and thumb. 

Her skin, warm from the drink she had been sipping intermittently throughout the show, jumped a little at his touch but relaxed as he continued up the curve. When he reached the end of her thumb, he moved his hand away and placed it back on the armrest. A few moments later, her fingers started to play against the side of his hand, very gently. Instinctively, Darcy flipped his hand over so that his palm was facing up. The fingers hesitated before they began to slowly trace the lines engraved into his palm. Eventually her hand slid up to his fingers and filled the gaps between them. Darcy closed his hand around hers and once again their hands were intertwined. They spent the rest of the ballet in this fashion.

Darcy didn’t want the performance to end, finding comfort in the warm weight clasped in his hand. But like all things, they must. As the conductor began to play the main theme of the ballet, the dancers returned to the stage to take their bows. Darcy and Lizzie reluctantly released their hands and clapped along with the rest of the audience. They cast sidelong glances at each other only to look away quickly when the other noticed.

Before they exited the building, Darcy called his driver who had been waiting a few blocks away for the performance to end. As they went out into the night air, Darcy noticed Lizzie shiver a little and slid his jacket off. He placed it around her shoulders and feeling encouraged by what had occurred during the fourth act, he left his arm there. When Lizzie didn’t shrug it off and instead slid her arm around his waist, Darcy felt warm inside. 

They stood like that on the curb for only a few moments when the town car arrived. Darcy helped Lizzie into the car and then went around the side where the driver held the door open for him. He noticed, upon entering the vehicle, that the driver had slid the divider between the front and back of the car up. He would have to remember to tip the man well for that.

Darcy took his seat in the car surprised to find Lizzie not in her original seat at the other end, but in the middle seat of the car. She grinned at him and he made no comment about her seat change.

“What was your favorite part?” Lizzie asked, genuinely interested.

Darcy replayed the ballet in his head, trying to figure out which scenes or dances had stuck out to him.

“Despite the morbidity, I have always been fond of the closing duet where Odette and the Prince drown in the lake. His willingness to do anything for the woman he loves is something I find admirable. What about you?” 

Lizzie considered his answer before saying, “I really enjoyed the parts where all the swans danced together. I like to imagine them all as sisters, watching over Odette, the outsider, as if she were one of their own.” 

Lizzie looked past Darcy and out the window, mumbling, “I really should call her...”

They sat in silence for a moment as Darcy’s anxiety returned. He wanted desperately to kiss her. To gently tuck her hair behind her ear, his hand playfully following her jawline to her chin. He would slide his hand down her shoulder and around her waist, pulling her close. And then, ever so gently, he would touch their lips together for just a moment. Darcy sighed internally at the thought of it.

“Hello...Lizzie to Darcy. You ok?” Lizzie’s comment brought Darcy out of his fantasy. Lizzie was looking at him expectantly as if she had asked a question.

“Apologies, I was just thinking about a...board meeting I have on Monday. What was the question?” Darcy said, hoping she bought his white lie.

“I was asking, why you and your sister like the theater so much.” Lizzie said.

“It was one of the few things we used to do all the time with our parents before...” Darcy felt Lizzie’s hand on his back, gently rubbing it, encouraging him to share as much as he wanted with her. “Gigi and I like to go to remember them and feel close to them again.”

It was odd. Usually Darcy didn’t like to share that kind of personal information but there was something about Lizzie and her presence that he found comforting. Something that let him know he could trust her with this information, that she would protect him from the pain discussing this had brought up. Even older siblings liked to be protected sometimes.

When a few moments had passed, Lizzie removed her hand from his back and placed it in her lap. “Thank you,” she said, “for sharing that with me.”

“Thank you for listening.” Darcy said and they remained in silence for the final blocks to Lizzie’s apartment.

The trip to Lizzie’s complex went much faster than the trip to the theater. When they pulled up in front of her building, Lizzie turned to Darcy and said, “Thank you so much for such a wonderful evening. It exceeded all of my expectations.”

Darcy grinned and taking her hand in his brought it up to his lips, brushing them against her knuckles. 

“The pleasure, I assure you, was all mine.” He said to Lizzie’s rather shocked face. 

Darcy set her hand back on the seat and was surprised when she slid closer to him. She leaned over him, her face mere inches from his. His breath caught, remembering his daydream from earlier. Was this is it? Was this the moment?

Lizzie then leaned past his face and whispered into his ear, “And don’t worry, this will stay between us.” Then she brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed him on the cheek, her lips warm and soft. She then quickly exited the car and hurried up to her apartment, leaving Darcy in a perplexed state.

When Darcy entered his home that evening, he saw Gigi sitting at the kitchen table, sweaty and dressed for tennis, eating an apple and flipping through a magazine. When she saw him, she smiled and asked coyly, “How did it go?”

Darcy smiled quickly before looking down and saying, “It went far better than I ever expected.”


End file.
